In the manufacture of new components of propulsion units and in the reconditioning of used components thereof, wax or wax mixtures are applied to the components for various purposes, such as for coating, for laser drilling, for etching of surface layers, and in machining operations. Additionally, when the surfaces of components are not corrosion resistant, they are provided with protective coatings for storage which contain oil or wax. It is known to remove such organic materials in a facility that operates with chlorohydrocarbons (for example, trichloroethylene or tetrachloroethylene) or fluorochlorohydrocarbons (for example, trichlorotrifluoroethane or dichlorotetrafluoroethane) to dissolve the wax-type materials.
Plants which operate with chlorohydrocarbons or fluorochlorohydrocarbons are expensive in their care and maintenance. This is based partly on strict requirements with respect to environmental and work protection. Furthermore, relatively high cost expenditure must be made to assure a reliable operation of these facilities. Furthermore, chlorohydrocarbons can be used only to a limited extent for cleaning the surfaces of structural parts made of titanium, which are utilized frequently as drive components, due to the danger of increased stress corrosion cracking of the titanium after contact thereof with chlorohydrocarbons.